GW-283 -- The hottest gizmos and gadgets from Japan

Mon Dec 3 10:22:19 JST 2007

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Japan Inc Magazine Presents:

G A D G E T W A T C H

READ GADGETWATCH ONLINE AT:

www.japaninc.com

The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan

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Issue No. 283 Friday November 30, 2007

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Name: IO Data Device HDMC-U16ZM

Category: Portable hard drive

Price: 26,565 yen

Release date in Japan: Mid-December 2007

The Gist: Now that hard drive costs have gone down, sizes gone

down, and capacities gone up, USB memory is yet another

battleground for hard drives and flash memory. In years past,

hard drives have always been found in a certain set of

components, while flash memory was always used in a different

set. But now we're beginning to see a great deal of crossover

between the two formats: laptops with only flash memory, mobile

phones with only hard drives, digital video cameras with only

hard drives, and game consoles with only flash memory.

That said, each storage format has clear advantages and

disadvantages, so don't expect there to be a winner or loser in

this situation.

IO Data Device's new HDMC-U16ZM is good evidence of this.

While it qualifies as USB memory given its size (not much larger

than a couple of matchbooks) and weight, inside you won't find

any flash memory at all. It packs a tiny 16GB hard drive.

One could certainly question the durability of a hard drive

for such an application; hard drives really aren't meant to

jolted around, thrown into pockets, slapped on desks, or subject

to much of the abuse to which we regularly expose our USB memory

devices. It seems IO Data Device has us covered, though, as the

U16ZM is completely sealed and can be dunked in water as deep as

1 meter. According to the company's tests, it can also withstand

a drop as far as 122cm (4 feet). While there have been plenty of

USB memory devices with hard drives in the past, it's nice to

see a company understanding how much abuse these things should

be able to take.

The U16ZM works under all modern versions of Windows and Mac OS.

More info: http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdmc-uzm/

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Name: Sanwa Supply Optical Finger Mouse

Category: PC peripheral

Price: 3,480 yen

Release date in Japan: Already available

The Gist: For those who must mouse in small spaces comes the

'Optical Finger Mouse' from Sanwa Supply. It's hard to actually

call this a 'mouse' since it isn't meant to be placed on a flat

surface, but it is a pointing device, so maybe that's the logic.

Either way, the Optical Finger Mouse is an optical pointing

device that's equipped with a belt and is meant to be strapped

on the index finger of your right hand. You then put your finger

on a surface, be it your desk, head, or the palm of your other

hand. The optical sensor will read the changes in that surface

as you move your finger across it. So while a traditional

optical mouse involves moving the mouse across a mousepad and

having the optical sensor recognize the movement, the Optical

Finger Mouse requires moving your finger across any surface and

the optical sensor recognizes that movement. To actually click

or scroll, you'll need to use your thumb to click one of the

mouse's two buttons or operate its scroll wheel.

Sanwa Supply gathers that since you move your finger to operate

the mouse, rather than your entire wrist/hand, it's a lot more

sensitive to changes and can thus be used in smaller spaces.

It will work under all modern versions of Windows, and connects

via USB. The mouse won't be available in stores, so you'll need

to visit Sanwa Direct ('More info') to get your fingers on this

one.

More info: http://direct.sanwa.co.jp/ItemPage/400-MA006

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Name: IO Data Device HDL-GS series

Category: Network Attached Storage

Price: 24,360 yen ~ 74,655 yen

Release date in Japan: Mid-December 2007

The Gist: Also from IO Data Device is a new lineup of Network

Attached Storage devices, the HDL-GS series. The models range

from the 250GB 'HDL-GS250' at 24,360 yen to the 1TB 'HDL-GS1.0T'

at 74,655 yen.

The HDL-GS series packs a nice set of features for home

audio/video networking junkies. There's a Digital Living Network

Alliance (DLNA) server that allows the drive to connect directly

to devices such as recorders, TVs, and Playstation 3s. They can

also connect directly to Toshiba's REGZA Z3500 series of LCD

TVs. iTunes users will also be delighted to hear about the

Streaming Server functionality, allowing the drive to stream

MP3, M4A, or MP4 files directly a PC (or Mac?) running iTunes.

This magic all happens over a Gigabit Ethernet port.

For those without such desires, the HDL-GS drives also feature a

USB 2.0 port for connection to your system. Alternatively, the

same port can be used for connection to a digital camera; you

can use the 'Digicam Copy Function' to load pictures from your

camera onto the drive without use of a PC. These pictures can

obviously be accessed normally, but they can also be accessed

via your web browser, be it a browser on your PC or your game

console.

More info:

http://www.iodata.jp/prod/storage/hdd/2007/hdl-gs/index.htm

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STAFF

Written by: Liam McNulty

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